Free at last
by Different Dimension Demon
Summary: War and betrayl take a heavy toll on the human mind. Like glass shatters under pressure, people snap under the same strain. When enough is enough Naruto feels some things are beyond redemption, mainly himself, so he decides to do the one thing the village wanted long ago- he decides to die. Suicide fic, angsty. two-part one. small hint of sad naruxanko fluff
1. chapter 1

Naruto looked down on the village with a scowl as the streets were filled with the lights of celebration. The Fourth Great Shinobi War was done and over with, the Akatsuki was done, Pein dead and everyone who died had been resurrected. One would think that now would be a time for celebration and happiness, generally you'd be right but when it came to a particular blonde shinobi his unnatural luck streak had seemingly died out. Sasuke the traitor extrordinare had been elected as the Rokudaime, Sakura was engaged to Sasuke and they were expecting twins, Hinata who he thought loved him by her own confession at long last actually told him she realized she didnt love him romantically as she had thought but rather looked up to him as a beacon to better himself and as if all that wasnt bad enough the Kyuubi was being a lot louder than normal. 'When I get out you're going to regret everything you've made me endure! All the people you care about are going to suffer when Im free!' or as he dubbed it by that point the usual bullshit.

"Penny for your thoughts Naruto?" a soft female voice behind him asked. The blonde turned and his scowl got harsher as he saw Hinata flanked by Sakura and Sasuke. If he had cared enough at that point he may have noticed the genuine worry in their eyes about the blonde shinobi but he was beyond caring.

"No. Leave me be and go back to your celebration. Im sure your precious council will send ANBU to find you three if you're gone too long. Safety of the Hokage, his soon to be wife unborn children and the great Hyuuga medic bullshit they've been spouting recently" Naruto said with a tightly controlled tone before turning his eyes to the village again. He didnt need to see the trio to know they flinched at his words. "Dont. Touch. Me. Traitor." His eyes turned as he glared at Sasuke with demonic red slit eyes seeing Sasuke try to approach him. "They're all fooled by your lies but Im not" he spat before jumping off the Hokage monument.

"What do we do Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. She knew that war did a lot to a person mentally and emotionally but the ball of sunshine that they knew as children hadnt been around for the longest time. Even when he was an annoying brat she was fond of him in a sense even if she did reject his advances on her and hit him when she had very little control of her inner personality that partially influenced her, he was like a brother to her even if she didnt show it all that well. Now all that remained was what could generously be called a shadow of a broken man. Gone was the kind, helpful warm soul and in his stead was a bitter, harsh, cruel unfeeling husk where their teammate once stood.

"I wish I knew Sakura" Sasuke said lost for words and action. He knew his former teammate despised him for defecting, nearly killing him on more than one ocassion and now he took the one thing that he always wanted: his dream. Sasuke hadnt even wanted the job but through some loopholes he had been forced to take it while Naruto was unconscious for a week in the hospital.

-At The Silver Leaf shinobi bar-

Naruto sat alone at the end of the bar by himself when he felt people approaching him. Looking up from his drink his face went expressionless as the other members of tbe Rookie 12 approached him. "What do you bunch want?" he asked flatly before he knocked back a glass of sake and poured another.

"For you to pull your head out of your ass for one. Ever since the god damn war ended and the summit of the new Kages you've been this snappy bitch at everyone!" Ino snapped at him voicing everyones thoughts.

Naruto laughed hollowly, it almost sounded evil if you didnt know him, and actually looked amused though his once inviting warm blue eyes were cold hard."Aw, is everyone not happy Im not worshipping the ground of the new Hokage his expectant fiancée walk on?" he asked. He snorted seeing the group tense. "Piss off and leave me alone, its my day off." Turning back to his drink he was a moment from knocking it back when it smacked out of his hand shattering the glass on the floor making the bar go dead quiet. Everyone at The Silver Leaf knew not to disturb the blonde war hero when he drank if you valued your life and here was the core group of not just the heroes to put the war to an end but their new leader pushing the blondes buttons.

"You're out of line. As your leader I will not tolerate being spoken to like that am I understood?" Sasuke asked with a hiss. Oh how he wished he hadnt said those words moments later. The temperature in the room dropped as Naruto laughed again, the same hollow laugh, only it seemed to be tinged with a bit of madness.

"You know what Hokage-sama" Naruto hissed out the word as he stood up "you're perfectly right, I am out of line." He bit his finger and summoned Gamakichi on the bar top. "Kichi, tell your dad to take my name off the summon scroll. Im fucking done" he said and dismissed the toad before he could say a word. He unsealed the master toad summon contract from a seal on his arm and watched his name disappear off the scroll before he shoved it into the Uchihas hands along with his headband. "Fuck you all, I quit." He left the group in a stupor after paying his bill and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Way to go idiots" Lee snapped surprising everyone for his choice of words, the tone he used and the fact he wasnt speaking about Flames of Youth. "We're all fine and well you two have to strike a nerve with him. Using your position, the one thing he worked so hard to try achieve, to try and intimidate him to fall in line" he said said glaring at Sasuke "and you Ms. Congeniality psychotherapist. These two are engaged, she is pregnant, he has the job Naruto has worked so hard to earn his whole life, this one indirectly lied to his face and is with someone else and what does he have to show for this whole war? Battle scars and heartache. Put yourself in Narutos shoes and try to be a happy coping individual. I quit too, this village isnt worth it anymore." Lee let his handband drop to the floor and left leaving the group stunned after harshly jabbing fingers at Sakura, Sasuke and Hinata.

-At the Namikaze compound-

Naruto stared at the broken mirror, his empty stare reflected back ack at him only the eyes and his reflection werent they own. Instead of the hardened blonde haired blue eyes man was what could only accurately be described as a demon. Red eyes the color of freshly spilled blood bore holes into him set against ashen skin. A sickeningly wide grin bore witness to a mouth full of razor sharp teeth stained crimson with the blood of all the men Naruto had ever killed. 'I told you boy no one would ever truly accept' the demonic visage spoke yet Naruto said nothing. His eyes didnt blink or didnt flinch as the image cackled. 'You're more like me than you know it and you cannot face the truth of reality. You are a monster.'

The glass of the mirror shattered under Narutos clenched fist. He wasnt a monster, he had a lot of aggression pent up and he killed a lot of people but so did everyone else; killing was an unavoidable fate in war. "Im not a monster" he said to himself near a whisper ignoring the glass shards embedded in his hand as blood dripped onto floor. Kyuubis mad whispers tickled the edges of his senses as he smacked his hand against his temple to silence the whispers ignoring the pain that came with the glass shards cutting open new wounds on his face. The whispers stopped as cackles of twisted laughter retreated for now barely catching the tail half '...who could love or respect a monster like you? You dream boy' before he jammed up the mental block between him and beast. For a moment he didnt move in the silence, the only sound to break the morgue like stillness was the drops of blood splashing on the floor.

Then the door opened and his eyes snapped over seeing Shizune. She had been one of the few people he could tolerate after the war. Unlike the other members of the Rookie 12 or the shinobi corps who tried to force him into a Yamanaka chair for counselling she would sit with him in silence. If he wanted to talk she'd listen and if he didnt then at the very least he knew he had someone who wouldnt judge him beside him.

"The whispers are getting worse arent they?" Shizune asked noticing the shattered mirror on the ground, the shards embedded in his hand and the blood dripping off his person.

"Irritation" Naruto said with a smooth lie. Of course he knew she would see through it but she wouldnt call him out on it knowing there was a modicum of truth to it somewhere though she wouldnt have any idea just how much. "I resigned my contract and turned in my headband. Im leaving the village and Im not coming back" he said after a moment knowing Shizunes eyes would still be on him. Sweeping the glass up off the floor he waited for her to blow up either in anger or worry yet it never came.

"Where will you go?" Shizune asked as she leaned against the wall.

"I dont know... Wherever the wind blows I guess" Naruto said with a sigh.

"What about your frie-"

"I dont have friends in this village Shizune and you know that better than anyone" Naruto cut her off. "None of them cared before. None of them care now. They respect the war hero who can slaughter a battalion of enemy troops, they dont respect the person he was." He was quiet for a moment as he dumped the glass in a trash container. "Be gone by seven tomorrow morning. I intend to leave by that time and burn this compound to the ground. This village doesnt deserve the rewards of my parents life work" he said turning to head to the sole meditation room.

-The next morning, 6:30am-

Checking his scrolls one last time he sealed the gates to his clans compound one last time before he pressing his hands into a puddle of oil that covered the Namikaze compound in its entirety. "Fox fire: pyre of the damned" he said with a tired sigh as blacks whisps of youkai infused fire escaped his lips. His hands left the oil as the flames touched it and it caught fire. In no time the the compound was ablaze as Naruto left the Leaf village for the last time as all available shinobi rushed to the Namikaze compund to try and save the works of the late Yondaime only it would too late by the time they arrived; notes, books, seal arrays far beyond their time were destoryed by the immense inferno. He had soaked the entirety of the inside of the compound so nothing would survive.


	2. End

By the time the fire killed itself naturally the shinobi could only watch with sadness in their hearts knowing the funeral pyre that was the Yondaimes clan compound was symbolic of another death, the death of the spirit of a true self-less hero who couldnt take it anymore. "He left... He really left." Solemn eyes turned to look upon the form of one Anko Mitarashi. Anko was the other exception to Shizune. Anko knew pain like he did. She knew what it felt like to be so ostracized and made a pariah, to be hated for something beyond her control.

"He asked me to give you this Anko... He knew you would you come like everyone else" Shizune said noticing the shaking Snake Mistress as she received looks of pity. Many knew of Ankos love for the blonde who was her kindred soul. The purple haired woman looked to the sealed letter stained with drops of dried blood on the envelop addressed to her.

Anko tore into the it and her eyes widened in horror before she darted toward the Sacred Woods that housed the burial places of the past Hokages. She needed to be fast enough! She couldnt lose him, not after all they sacrificed to earn this!

-At the burial place of the Yondaime-

Naruto stared at the tree beside the tomb containing his fathers remains. "Its ironic dad... For a smart guy you were really stupid" he said with a sigh. He was losing it, talking to a corpse long dead. Beside him a clone fashioned a hangmans noose out some sturdy rope. "You hoped, you wished and prayed I would be seen the hero... I wasnt. You prayed and hoped against hope people knew the difference between a kunai the storage seal it was put in... They didnt." Each statement marked a completed circuit on the noose til thirteen thick rings made up a sturdy neck around the loop. "I cant take it anymore... Its the cowards way out but all I can hope is Anko forgives me. People like us werent meant for this new world... A peaceful world has no need for weapons of war, no need for shadow demons..."

"The world doesnt but I do!" Narutos head snapped up recognizing that voice anywhere. Anko jumped out of the tree and dropkicked him against the base of the tree dispeling the clone dropping the noose. "We made a promise you bastard! You promised you wouldnt leave me alone like he did!" Ankos eyes were angry and sad, tears streaming down her face as her hands fisted into his shirt. "If you die...I die... We'll always be togetber no matter what... You promised me that foxy" she said with a quiet heartbreaking sob.

Naruto felt what little of his heart was left break as the tears landed on his shirt. "Im sorry" he whispered barely able to unclench Ankos grip on hand before his fingers laced with hers forming an all too familiar seal to the snake mistress with gentle ministrations. "I wasnt thinking my viper. It... It got to be too much..." He felt ashamed for what he almost did, leaving Anko alone to suffer like Orochimaru had so long ago. "Lets find that quiet place beyond the stars. Away from the sneers... Away from the glares.. Away from the whispers.."

"Our piece of paradise rightfully due" Anko whispered as she clenched his hand in her own. "Twin Death" her breath came in shudders as two black and gold scaled snakes were summoned forth from the chakra channeled between the pair through the hand seal. Even the snake summons, long since under a new boss, had come to honor the broken fox container who had sacrificed so much and asked for nothing in returnd except the love of the purple haired woman who gave it to the blonde with no hesitation. If this was the last request from two people they honored then they would honor it so.

Naruto leaned forward so his forehead rested against Anko as his own tears began to fall, tears long over due. Tears of sorrow, anger, rage... Tears for everything that ever happened to them. More importantly they were tears of relief; they would finally be free. Free from expectations, standards, persecution... Free in the truest sense of the word. "Suicide" he whispered as his and Ankos lips met for one last kiss on the mortal plane as the snakes fangs pierced their necks. The pair would be dead before any help could reach them and the snakes would stand a silent vigil for the dying pair.

Their breathing slowed and eyes began to flutter close. She could feel it getting hard to breath but she wasnt afraid. "I love you foxy" she whispered with her final breath as her heart stopped, her body going slack against his.

Naruto took a minute longer with the fox fighting the venom but the venom for Twin Death Suicide was a special one that targeted not only the body but the chakra. While the body died of internal asphixiation it 'rotted away' the chakra in case it tried to save the body from death. "I love you my viper" he whispered before his body gave out and it went black for him.

By the time a search party stumbled upon them it was much too late. The pair was long dead, faces peaceful with only the dried remains of tear trails staining their skin as they lay in a tender lovers embrace. Many were shocked when Sasuke and Sakura not only entombed the lovers with the Hokages in the Sacred woods but decided to honor the pair by naming their children after the fallen lovers who gave everything. Councilors died that day, victims to the Uchihas wrath at the disrespect being put on his teammate and fallen friend.


End file.
